The first thing you notice about Joey Cullen on the ice is the amazing things he can do with his hands.
Passing, deking, shooting — the youngest brother of a well-known American hockey family makes it all look clinical.
"He had one of these Swedish floorball sticks that he carried in his hands every day when he'd go to the rink every day to watch his brothers," ex-NHLer Matt Cullen, Joey's father, said in a telephone interview last week while watching the youngest of three sons at the U17 World Challenge in Oakville, Ont.
"He'd be stickhandling and playing hockey at the rink. He'd just always have a stick in his hands. Playing against his brothers, they played mini-sticks for hours and hours and they played in the backyard rink whenever we were in a cold-weather area. He got a lot of ice, he loved it. He works on his hands a lot."
The five-foot-11 Cullen was one of the more dangerous players all week at the six-team showcase for players eligible for the 2028 or 2029 NHL drafts.
Cullen, 16, tied for first on his team in scoring with three goals and four assists in four games as Team USA captured gold. He had two assists in a 3-0 win over Czechia in the final.
Cullen's older brothers Brooks, 20, and Wyatt, 18, are teammates at the University of Minnesota, where their three-time Stanley Cup-winning father is in his first year as director of player development. Joey will be playing for his home-state Golden Gophers in a year or two, as he has made a commitment to the school.
Before he ends up there, though, there's every chance he'll follow in Wyatt's skate tracks. The Nashville Predators selected the middle Cullen brother 10th overall in June, and Wyatt figures to play for Team USA at the world junior championship next month in Alberta.
Joey Cullen has all the makings of a first-round pick in 2028.
When asked what it was like growing up in such a devoted hockey household, Cullen said, "It was awesome. I'm very fortunate to have my dad and my brothers, too. Everything is from them. I'm super grateful for them. To be able to compete against my brothers a bit, they helped me a lot growing up."
Added Matt: "(The brothers) kind of did everything together growing up. It was kind of the back half of my career. We were in Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Nashville, a few different spots. Really, you're moving around a little bit and the three boys were as close as you could ever be.
"They're just best friends. They were on the ice together ... they played in the basement together, they played in the driveway. They were all really tight. He's the youngest, so he has to keep up with big brothers. He was always so competitive, he got a litlte bit of a competitive streak, I think, from that."
Joey Cullen is in his first year with the U.S. National Team Development Program (which forms the U17 Team USA roster) after splitting last year between the Honeybaked 15U team and his Moorhead, Minn., high-school squad. His WHL rights are owned by the Victoria Royals.
Cullen also was the first underager selected by Team USA to compete in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup under-18 event last summer, notching three goals and two assists in five games.
"Joey's got a little more focus and seriousness about him all the time, while Wyatt had that too but he was a little bit more go-with-the-flow," said USNTDP coach Nick Fohr, who also coached Wyatt with the program. "There's definite differences with the boys, but just their abilities are so similar, the way they look and how they handle the puck and things like that. It's hard not to compare the two, for sure."
Joey Cullen was six and seven when he got to celebrate in the rink with his dad and brothers when Matt won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and '17 with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"He was right in the middle of it. Gosh, he had some fun," Matt said, chuckling. "I have some funny pictures, he had some fun times with those Penguins guys. He was right in the mix. In all the Cup celebrations, out on the pitching mound when we were throwing out the first pitch at the Pirates game. ... Great experiences."
Now, Joey hopes to carve out his own path to the top of the hockey mountain.
"He's a lot of fun to watch," Fohr said. "The things he can do with the puck with his hands, just his overall abilities are really elite. He's learning the game, it's a big step up. He's had some frustrations at times. He's really hard on himself. But he's coming, he's coming along. He's doing a good job for us."
Speaking of sons of ex-NHLers ...
Kane Cloutier went a different direction than his dad, former NHL goaltender Dan Cloutier — and it clearly was a good call.
Cloutier, picked first overall by the Oshawa Generals in this year's OHL Draft, had three goals and two assists in five games for bronze medal-winning Canada White.
"I was goalie once when I was a kid in Vancouver, it was like Timbits," Cloutier said. "I didn't get too many shots and I hung 'em up after that."
Cloutier has three goals and two assists in 16 games for an under-.500 Gens team, but he showed his offensive potential in Oakville.
Cloutier won the Jack Ferguson Award as the top pick in the OHL Draft. Ferguson, a longtime OHL scouting boss and a guy I've known for two-plus decades, was in the rink in Oakville and told me Cloutier has big scoring ability.
"Kane's the first-overall pick for a reason," Canada White coach Dylan Smoskowitz said. "He's a fantastic hockey player, skill galore."
Standout players
As expected, Maddox Schultz (Canada Red, Regina Pats), Liam Pue (Canada White, Regina Pats) and 2029-eligible Madden Daneault (Canada Red, Kelowna Rockets) all made big contributions, finishing first, tied for second and tied for seventh, respectively, in tournament scoring. Schultz was named a tourney all-star.
Here are some other players who caught our eye.
Adrian Sgro, D, Canada White (Sarnia Sting)
A minor-hockey teammate of Cloutier's, Sgro led all blue-liners with 10 points (three goals and seven assists) in five games. The six-footer excels at both ends of the ice.
Kash Kwajah, F, Canada Red (Sudbury Wolves)
Picked fifth overall in the OHL Draft, one spot behind Sgro, Kwajah was one of the most dynamic players in the tournament. The tournament all-star is off to a great start in the OHL too, with six goals and nine assists in 13 games.
Matyas Michalek, D, Czechia (Sparta Praha)
The six-foot-four blue-liner looks like a high pick in the 2028 draft. He opted to stay in Czechia this season, and already has played four games in the country's top league. The Generals picked him first overall in the CHL Import Draft.
Dominik Zelezny, F, Czechia (Bili Tygri Liberec)
The 15-year-old might be battling Daneault for top spot in the 2029 draft, though there's a long way to go. He led the silver medallists in scoring with four goals and two assists in four games and was named a tournament all-star.
Drew Daley, D, U.S.
The Buffalo-area native was named a tournament all-star alongside Sgro on the blue line. The Brantford Bulldogs selected Daley in the OHL Draft, if he opts to switch to major junior.
Mason Martin, G, U.S.
The six-foot-two Martin stopped 44 of 46 shots in a semifinal win over Canada Red before posting a 30-save shutout against Czechia for gold, earning tourney all-star honours. The Saginaw Spirit selected Martin in the OHL Draft.
